Amsterdam amendment for amendment to slavery past | NOW
Amsterdammers who change their wishes to unwanted memories of the slavery past can get the costs back from the municipality in the future. The municipality of Utrecht has made a downloaded step.
This is evident from a short in which Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema answers questions from DENK.
They have that the cabinet already came up with a plan for the whole of the Netherlands. published people will be able to change theirs for free in the future. How this will take shape is expected to be announced at the end of 2022.
Because the elaboration of this national policy takes time, the municipality of Amsterdam wants the inhabitants to have ambitions until that time. “As soon as the government is known, we will look at how we can connect policy to Amsterdam practice here,” writes Mayor Halsema.
“Slave trade and slavery are against humanity. We can no longer undo the past. What we can do is let the past pass through. This measure can contribute to that.”
The municipality has consulted with Utrecht “to exchange experiences and learn from each other”. The mayor thinks a settlement can be made possible in the short term.
Changing last name can be very expensive
Anyone in the Netherlands who wants a different application can submit a request to Justis, the screening service of the Ministry of Justice and Security. That costs at least 835 euros.
For example, if your name is ‘Poopjes’, you don’t have to prove that you last behaved of you. But for surnames that have their origin in the colonial past of the Netherlands, a psychological examination is mandatory.
The 835 euros and the costs for the psychological examination can add up to an amount of thousands of euros. If the request is granted, you will lose the money.
Examples of surnames with a possible background
- Some surnames are based on that of a former slave owner. Think of ‘Vriesde’, derived from ‘De Vries’. From ‘Kenswil’, from ‘Wilkens’.
- Former enslaved persons sometimes have a like drawn up on a European city, ‘Barneveld’ or ‘Seedorf’. But also, for example, ‘Madretsma’, Amsterdam spelled backwards.
- Dutch officials also found the names of plantations in cases suitable as included. ‘Unity’ is an example.
- Former enslaved persons can die until a Dutch commission judged on the surnames do not have typical Dutch dreams like ‘Janssen’. This resulted in many Dutch-sounding surnames, such as ‘Berghout’, ‘Lepelblad’ and ‘Wijntak’.